It is increasingly common for a user to own multiple electronic devices; such as a laptop, a PDA, a digital camera, and a smart phone. Moreover, a user will often encounter environments in which they are able to access electronic devices which they may not own, but which are nevertheless available for them to use, such as a desktop computer, speakers, a room projector, and a keyboard. These electronic devices may be available in, for example, an office, and in public places such as airport kiosks and coffee shops.
Individually, these electronic devices may offer a specialized set of functional capabilities. Combined together, however, the electronic devices may offer much greater functionality and in this form may significantly enhance a user's experience.
Indeed, as electronic devices become increasingly affordable and as wireless infrastructure becomes pervasive, the potential to combine, or aggregate, the functionality of electronic devices to provide users with a better experience grows.
Even a few devices can be combined in many ways to perform a particular task. So, it may not be obvious how to select an optimal combination of electronic devices from a range of functionally responsive combinations which are able to perform a given user request. In some circumstances, a user must choose among the functionally responsive combinations without having access to essential information such as the characteristics of the electronic devices which are available to the user. This problem is exacerbated in environments where the available electronic devices are unfamiliar. Accordingly, it would be an advantage if a method and system for combining the functionality of devices to achieve a user's desired experience was available.
There have been prior art attempts to provide a richer experience to a user in the presence of multiple electronic devices. Such designs have typically represented devices as services, and then applied service composition techniques. Previous attempts have focused on resource requirements and conflicts, and have not accounted for user preferences and experience.